Originally Posted by
tide
Being banged around during turbulence can be no fun. I remember a UA flt departing NRT several years ago being in the news for a fatality resulting from turbulence. I'm sure others have more details on this.
I think there has been more than one. a head plant on a 2g acceleration from the floor to the ceiling of a 747 is really going to smart. I think that is about the equivalent of a 16ft fall onto your head in 1g.
as a second comment, I recall about 20-30 years ago, transatlantic flights(these were jets) slowed down when they hit "severe" turbulence. sometimes the slowdown cost a couple of hours on arrival time.